GJIA: The 2024 Portuguese election saw the highest voter turnout in decades, as well as the consolidation of the far-right Chega party as the third largest in the country’s assembly. Has this new political constituency influenced Portuguese foreign policy? Do you see Chega shaping foreign policy in the future?
Ambassador Lopes: You are correct that the turnout was comparatively high in Portugal’s most recent legislative elections. This is always welcome. Every time the number of voters rises, it signifies an interest in elections, politics, and democratic participation. On the topic of the Chega party, they increased their representation in our parliament from 12 to 50 members. At the moment, the answer is clearly no—there is no influence on Portugal’s foreign policy. Our constitutional system is very clear in its assertion that foreign policy is conducted by the executive. In April 2024, the government changed from the main center-left party to the main center-right party. However, since we reinstated democracy in the 1970s, Portugal’s tradition has always had continuity in the strategic direction of our foreign policy. This has been confirmed by the present government.
GJIA: How is Portugal committed to advancing its relationship with other Lusophone countries? What are some key achievements of this effort and some future plans?
Ambassador Lopes: Most Lusophone countries obtained independence in the mid-1970s, with the last country—Timor-Leste—gaining statehood in 2002. Our relations have always been characterized by mutual respect between these countries. It is very usual for Portuguese families to have members living in one of these Portuguese-speaking countries or members of families born in one of these countries now living in Portugal. Of course, there is the case of Brazil, which has been an independent country for over two hundred years. Portugal always has a good relationship with Brazil, and there are a lot of economic activities and cultural exchanges. There is a kind of interdependence due to successive waves of migration, going both ways depending on where economic attractiveness is higher. If the economy is prosperous in Brazil, many Portuguese people will migrate to Brazil. If it is the other way around, you see Brazilians coming to Portugal. Key to the connections with Brazil and other Lusophone countries was the creation of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries in 1999. It was an important milestone because it formalized the spirit of a community. These special links bring together all the countries with Portuguese as their official language and shared cultural legacies.
GJIA: The Portuguese Finance Minister recently called for greater cooperation between Portugal, the European Union, and the United States to prevent tariffs and strengthen economic ties. How will the three actors’ economic and political dialogue change under the second Trump administration?
Ambassador Lopes: Portugal looks keenly at any political transition in this strong transatlantic partnership for the significance of the United States on the world stage. It is important to underline that the United States is a fundamental ally and a central partner for Portugal, as for many other European countries. This is both bilaterally and in terms of the transatlantic link between the United States, Canada, and the European Union. We are a founding member of NATO and a member of the European Union for 40 years. Portugal’s stance is one of centrality. We do not see any separation between the transatlantic link and European integration. On the contrary, for Portugal, they are complementary, and one reinforces the other. It is also important to remember that the United States and the European Union are the biggest trading partners in the world. The investments on both sides create millions of jobs—American jobs through European investment and European jobs through American investment. We want to not only maintain this close cooperation that brings us common success but also to deepen the cooperation as much as possible.
GJIA: As a significant advocate for NATO unity and Ukrainian defense, how does Portugal see itself in European security in the present and the future?
Ambassador Lopes: For Portugal, the reinforcement of European security through investment in defense by European countries is not contrary to our membership in NATO and its mission. On the contrary, we look at the possibilities for the European defense reinforcement as an additional opportunity for NATO to solidify its defense capabilities.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Portugal has stood with Ukraine, like the United States and every country in the European Union. We support Ukraine in different ways: as much as we can economically and militarily, but also through humanitarian efforts and receiving Ukrainians who left their country. Today, around 65 thousand Ukrainians have resided in Portugal since the beginning of the war in 2022. They have been well integrated into Portuguese society and economy, but of course, the final goal is for them to return to their country one day.
GJIA: Portugal has continually set ambitious goals for clean and renewable energy and sought to diversify its energy imports and matrix. What role does energy play in Portugal’s greater economic plan, and what is the outlook for its role moving forward?
Ambassador Lopes: Portugal has indeed been backing an energy transition towards renewable sources for a long time. The results speak for themselves, especially in terms of the incorporation of renewables into our sources of electricity. We are among the leading countries in Europe using renewables to produce energy. As of 2024, 70 percent of our electricity was generated from renewable sources. If you take energy needs in general—not only electricity, but transportation, heating, and so on—our incorporation of renewables is at around 35 percent. We are creating the conditions to invest even more in renewable energy. There are two trends to look at. One is the general electrification of the economy, that is, growing the number of areas that need electricity where there was no such enlarged need for electricity before. Our first bet is on more renewables for an economy that will be more electrified from now on. For example, we expect more electric cars in the transportation sector, and we hope this happens in more industries. The second bet is to invest and attract foreign investment to ensure companies use cheaper energy for industries and services in Portugal. We have been investing for a long time in renewables, and right from the beginning, consumers—both families and companies—were somewhat critical of this bet because the price of electricity was quite high. Around two decades ago, we had one of the highest electricity costs in Europe, but with time, the price of electricity produced by renewables has decreased as technology advances. Now, we have some of the cheapest electricity in Europe. We think Portugal is becoming more attractive to foreign and local investments for its cheap renewables.
Additionally, on the topic of energy, there is the problem of needing other energy sources for the 30 percent of the electricity that is not from renewables and the 65 percent of total energy needs that do not come from renewables. The main energy source we use apart from renewables is gas, which is largely imported from the United States. Portugal was the first country to import liquified natural gas from the United States in 2015. Since then, the percentage of U.S. gas consumed in Portugal went from zero to 40 percent.
GJIA: Portugal has seen a booming tech industry attracting national and international investors. How did Portugal become a hub for European technology? Moreover, how does Portugal position itself on the technology competition between the United States and China?
Ambassador Lopes: The bet on technology has also been strategic from successive governments in Portugal, regardless of their political identity. When Portugal recovered its democracy 50 years ago, literacy levels and education quality were low compared to other European countries. So, governments greatly invest in education, research, energy transition, and digitalization. Portugal has been incentivizing our universities to adapt their courses to the contemporary needs of the digital labor market. So, this trend is the result of a commitment to education. We have reached the standard educational levels comparable to other European countries, but it took many decades. Now, precisely as a result of the country’s commitment to education, there is an increasing number of tech companies founded in Portugal by Portuguese people educated in Portuguese schools and universities. You also see more companies and initiatives related to technology from our partnerships with other European and U.S. universities. Foreign companies that have been in Portugal for more than twenty years incentivized the quick growth of Portuguese startups—some of them even becoming unicorn companies valuing more than one billion US dollars. These companies create jobs in Portugal and the United States that are involved in Portuguese, U.S., and European markets.
We are always attentive to the technology competition between the United States and China. That applies not only to China but to any country in the world. We are always attentive to any question related to national security and ready to take measures to protect our national security and that of our allies. That being said, we are a country open to investment. We have always had a very open economy. Our trade has been growing steadily with every continent in the world, and Portugal has historically had good relations with the rest of the world due to our history. If you look, for example, at Africa, it is interesting to see that Portugal is usually among the E.U. countries that trade the most goods and services with the whole continent. That is an indication of how open our economy is and how Portugal’s historical links with the rest of the world translate into our trade.
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Francisco António Duarte Lopes is Portuguese Ambassador to the United States. A career diplomat, he previously served as Portugal’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2017 to 2022. Prior to that, he held key positions at Portugal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Political Director and Director-General for European Affairs. His extensive diplomatic career includes roles as a senior adviser to the Prime Minister, coordinator at Portugal’s Permanent Representation to the European Union, and postings in Denmark and Pakistan. Born in Castelo Branco, Ambassador Lopes holds a law degree from the Faculdade de Direito de Lisboa.
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Interview conducted by Gui Lima and Harry Yang.
Image Credit: Photo by Anja on Unsplash.
